Paper-Cut: The week that went by

This week was a no holds barred out and out battle, a battle all of us are waging against the loss of time and the loss of sanity. People make a lot of assumptions of what it is like to be working in the IT industry. What they don’t often know is that for those who enjoy it and take it seriously it’s always a struggle to do a good job. We can all do the best we can but to do a decent enough job and feel satisfied, now that’s a challenge.

Here is the challenge for me though, how do I feel rejuvenated the next day and defeat this constant sense of exhaustion?

I try to visualize a sandy beach or a nice corner café, or the night lights in some beautiful city or lazy Sunday afternoon with the phone off the hook. Does it work? Sometimes it does and sometimes this visualization makes us frustrated for it is yet so far away from our reality. I guess it’s the simple things we need to start appreciating and also doing away with the thought that we can’t take a moment to just enjoy ourselves. I also try a mid week treat of a movie, I know its going to be late the next day but it makes the week less and less intimidating.

I also look forward to writing for my BLOG, what new topic or what new observation can I put into words? What new perspective can I offer to people who come and read?

I guess what I am really trying to say is that we have to stop ourselves from being jaded, try looking at things as if we were looking at them the first time. Try admiring a garden or a nice car and allow yourself to take in things. It’s difficult to retain a childish enthusiasm when the world is only with you as long as you run with it. But it’s this childish enthusiasm that really makes us want to wake up the next day.

Sit in the balcony and savor that coffee slowly, then when you are ready go join the world again.

Mediocrity, Machiavelli and Mozart

The first word I hate, the second stands for a way of being and the third a retreat from the other two. A while back I wrote an article on the art of working and it was well received, but how many people actually subscribed to that school of thought or identified with it? A few have understood, those who have been succumbing to the corporate world and the needs of the universe, balancing and juggling between their personal lives and their professional. 

However there are those who revel in mediocrity, the world we see today has people creating new schemes, new ways to not do much but float into a languid inconsequential life. Is this what we want? Sure, each human being has his or her own “Mantra” for life, but why be incomplete and lead an incomplete life?

It’s a choice of being this way; it’s a mentality and cannot be changed unless the person decided to take a chance on life. “Am ok with this” and “I don’t need to be promoted” or “I don’t need to be like them”, these are traps and not statements. It’s a little bit like opening a trap door a jumping in, not knowing how far down the base might be.

Success is not a cliché, neither is it wrong to want it. Being the best at what you do does not look foolish or desperate; it just says that you are unwilling to settle for less. It’s a constant struggle, trying to convince people that all you want is to get the best out of the situation. We don’t have a choice sometimes but we do have a choice to get the best out of everything, to want to inspire and to want to be known.

What does stand in the way of getting people out of this mediocrity is the second word in my title. Let’s face it, it’s fashionable to be political and people enjoy the mundane rhetoric that accompanies it. We face it at our place of work and amongst our peers and friends too. But maybe being Machiavellian is not about being dishonest or attempting to conceal the truth. It maybe more about using words to charm the best out of people. Wow, did I just indulge myself in some semantic jujitsu, no. It was very well intended and maybe a little charm and a few words might get the best out of people yet.

Paper Cut: 2010

I waited for the New Year to roll in with CNN. yes, you read right.

I was officially on duty (we have to be alert for S/W production issues) just in case, thats how it is in the Software engineering world! But i kind of liked the idea as i had to stay awake and what better way to do it than with the AC360 Team @ CNN.

They had live coverage from round the world as we chased the clock and celebrated the New Year across time zones and continents. So virtually i was in NY, Paris and Australia and enjoyed it thoroughly! I know what you are thinking at this point, that its really sad that i was not out partying with friends or clubbing at all the hotspots. Well, my friends are all consumed by their own worlds which is what happens often in the real world.

This year though Asia is on the map for plenty of good reasons, a strong economic position and managing to do well inspite the rough weather. We keep hearing news of discrimination and mindless killing of Indians in Australia which is something that shocked me considering that a lot of Indians have been migrating over the years. Whats surprising is that till date we never saw this outburst of racial violence and i cant help but think that there is a larger conspiracy at play here. Am i one for beleiving in conspiracies? Yes, because history shows that racial crimes start out small and peak at the turn of large economic events (thats my own finding), but it seems to have sprung out of nowehere in aussie land.

I hope parents and people make important desicions and keep themselves safe from harm, does this mean we plan a world-wide exodus and people become local instead of global again? No, but if not that then we definitely need to form organizations and groups and frame laws to start rectifying the situation before it takes on irrepairable proportions.

Where are we headed with this open bias? Funny thing is that i have worked and met foreigners who are so educated and so modern in their outlook that this must be really the handiwork of a few people or organizations serving their selfish interests.

Here is hoping that the foreign ministry and Ambassdors appointed figure out a way of saving people, we need more than just commentary and speeches or apologies now.

Apart from this work is hectic and reaching  a moot point, its becoming a big struggle to keep all the stakeholders happy. But we do what we can.

Looking forward to the slew of new cars from Chevrolets Beat to VW  Polo, a lot of test drives round the corner.

So what are you upto? comment and share your thoughts…

ciao till then

Paper cut : The Beetle

Well the last week went by with some big Up’s and one down, not going to get into details as I am an eternal optimist and like to focus on the Up’s. The coming week is looking good as I will be on leave for a week after that and will spend some quality time reading, visiting friends and a bit of traveling. The New Year is much awaited by everyone as this year was not exactly a smooth ride economically speaking. But there are signs everywhere of recovery and consumer spending.

What was exciting this weekend though was my visit to the Volkswagen showroom just ten minutes away from home.

Why was it exciting you ask? Well the new Beetle is in town, officially… and i could not help myself admire and behave like a small child in the showroom. I explored every nook and cranny of my childhood and (adult) fantasy. Yes, i was one of those children who loved Herbie and wanted a little Herbie all for myself one day.

Thanks to Volkswagen and to the economic development and probably a good market for cars, we can see this peice of German engineering on the roads soon. I was first excited when Mercedes drove into town but for some reason it looked so intimidating that i have not found the courage to go to the showroom yet.

I guess the Beetle has a more human appeal to it and that’s fantastic because with all that engineering and a 2 liter engine under the hood it still manages to turn people into children. I was not the only one in the shop to do so as I watched a lot of people come in with big smiles and anxious eyes, waiting to feel and take in the glimpse of the little gem.

I shamelessly took some pictures with my camera phone and said good-bye to Herbie. But this in no way ends my fascination and admiration for him. Welcome to India, Herbie, waiting to see you as you take command of the roads and everyone’s heart.

Information & Economics

Hey everyone out there …hope life has been treating you well and you are all set for a better year round the corner.

Hope that none of the recessionary effects of this year spill over to the next year and waiting to see how our changed policies or better (so they say) regulations have acheived stability.

I was originally planning to write about cloud computing, but with the new year coming it made sense for me to re-look at my own spending and perhaps how it all boils down into the bigger picture.

On that note i have started an essay on the role of information in economics, as i researched and googled this evening i found that this is indeed a very pertinent subject and someone has been granted a nobel prize on the subject. This is also a vindication as to my direction of thought, but of course the professor beat me to it.

The essay is going to take me sometime to prepare as i might need to study economic models and the role of information in the market today. Do visit again and i promise it will be worth your while.

So till the next essay, stay tuned, eat healthy and do comment!

SCRIBD Reading touches 1087 reads!

Another cool news is that my SCRIBD reading has touched a total of 1087 reads which is more than i expected!

Way to go 1000+ reads so far!

Watch this space for more news on that front.

Weekly post and whats to come !

Hello there,if you are in India right now and reading my BLOG then you must be stuck in a room with a laptop with the monsoon outside lashing away at everything in its path.

Yes folks, the monsoon is here and how! Chennai is putting up a brave front against heavy rainfall and trying to keep calm. I was glad to see people out and about drinking lots of tea and coffee and getting nostalgic.

Did i say nostalgic? yes the rains have a way of influencing our state of mind. From purposeful thinking to deciding on which technology toy to invest in; we all have our various streams running.

So what else is happening in my world, for one thing i have started work on my ,new article something technical this time. Cloud computing is one area that has caught my interest recently and i want to follow this new paradigm.

Apart from that am busy studying for a course at work and have my fingers in many pies , nothing new there. Looking forward to some much needed R&R in december.

come back soon and you can read something about cloud computing

Ciao till then!

Perfect, where i am.

Perfect, where I am.

Is this a title reflective of my pride, am I indulging my ego here? Or am I exhibiting higher levels of self-esteem? Hardly, but it did get your attention and that was my only intention. it’s a powerful statement and its simplicity can fool you easily.
As children we all went through different phases, phases where we feel so influenced by a life style or a person that we truly want to be there in that situation or be more like that person. Iconic or flamboyant, powerful persona or irresistible beauty we have been entranced by other people. We don’t want to be like them, we want to be them.

Be true to yourself, I am sure you have felt this way too at some point unless of course you belonged to the second category. In school I wanted to be popular and admired, I wanted to be like the topper who not only scored phenomenal marks but also drove home in a new car with extremely good looking parents. In my eyes at the time, they could be anything they wanted. They were the cynosure of all eyes and of course every teacher adored them.
Where was I between all this? I was the clumsy, gawky tom-boyish old soul with frightfully curly hair and big eyes. Don’t get me wrong, I had friends and could manage to garner enough attention if I wanted to. But I didn’t like myself much, I always wished to be more like someone else. Did I voice this out loud? No.

I slowly slipped into my burgeoning persona and didn’t change tracks, despite everything. I had a whole love-hate relationship, a constant tug of war between who I thought I wanted to be and who I really was.
There are different kinds of pressures we face, irrespective of age we all have to gain acceptance and approval from society or our extended families. This extended till college time and somehow I did manage to make the transition from school to college. Things sort of naturally fell into place, at least for a year. I joined in for a course in Physics to buy some time to pursue my larger dreams.

That year was exciting and probably gave me a glimpse of what college life was really about. There were plays and activities to look forward to and competitions and I also managed to get nominated as the “class rep” which was no mean achievement.
This was all short lived though and my engineering entrance tests came around fast, soon I was plunged into a different world. The first day was intimidating to say the least, four years were spent completely immersed in getting millions of Xerox copies and buying books from every nook and corner of Madras.

Not much fun, but I slowly realized that I could push myself more and more with each year. With endless supply of coffee and my mothers amazing patience we made it through this long tenuous period. My grades were great and I knew I had to find a job on my own.
At every point what I realized is that we are placed in the exact position for a take-off. We can understand and accept the opportunities life presents us by placing us where we are or we can always keep wondering what the other side is all about.
What I like to do is accept my present but always visualizing my future from where I am. From this vantage point I am perfectly placed.
We are where we are because it’s the choices we ourselves have taken. I would not go back and change anything, the hardship or my self-hate teenage period. I am comfortable in my skin and that’s what has taken so long. Am i done learning or transforming, No but i am ready for change as and when it comes.
Enjoy who you are and where you are and then visualize and extrapolate it to where you would like to see yourself.

Weekly Post !

This week was tough week, challenging my body to keep up with my mind. Exhaustion crept in slowly and steadily and by mid week it was a game of wits to feel charged about the new day ahead.

 What keep’s us going ultimately?

 I have no idea, lets leave it to the fact that we probably underestimate our body as well as our mind most of the time. Nothing fantastic came out of the ordinary, maybe we don’t know yet what the human limit is.

One thing I have learnt though is the best way to tackle such situations, by keeping it simple.

Eat right, sleep well, take the time to enjoy the coffee, take a minute to enjoy that fresh morning breeze trying to make its way through all the humdrum and noise of life. Enjoying the simple things, I love smelling freshly washed linen, oranges, fresh vegetables stacked in shelves with a trace of the wet mud in them, new paper and ink.

These simple every day things can do wonders for us. Just by staying positive and simple, one can really rejuvenate oneself. Is this the solution to everything, I don’t know yet. However I have an open mind so I will explore It and give it a chance. You should too.

It was a good week creatively too as I came up with two new ideas, stay here for more on those two new essays on my BLOG.

Paper-cut : The Art of Working

The Art of Working

Is working an art form? If yes then those who love what they do have done wonderful things with it and made it an art form. I originally wanted to title this article “Happiness at work” but then it would make the skeptical and cynical lot turn away and not give it the time of the day.

Drudgery, mundane, suffering are these the definitions for work?

Read the next sentence slowly and carefully, its easy I promise.

We can be the best at what we do and yet not care about it.

Is this possible? From the nine years that I have been working my opinion is that its not possible, not by a long shot. Its when we cherish what we do and allow ourselves to become a channel for all our positive energy and talents that work transcends to the next level. Ok, I know what everyone is thinking now, this person is a workaholic. Work has changed over the centuries; whether its building a pyramid or bridges, civilizations have had their foundations built on, you guessed it – Hard work! Evolution progressed because we got tired of sitting and waiting for the next disaster? Ok I made this last one up.

So how can we make work, work for us.

I think the key to making work, work for us is first finding the right motivation, lending it energy by believing in ourselves and finally watching it influencing others and slowly and steadily building a positive work environment. There are times when we all need some kind of re-assurance about the larger picture, what am I doing and what is my purpose here? No matter how cynical one is we all ponder over this. I read a book a few years ago written by the Dalai Lama and Dr Howard C Cutler and the book focused on transforming dissatisfaction at work.

They delved into many areas and for this article I will focus on three of them that matter to us.

What is my purpose here?

 

 

 

 

Ripples in water travel from inside to the outside, this is common knowledge. So also anything to do with our environment begins from us extending outwards. Its wrong to assume that if we keep quiet and just go from day to day, we don’t affect our environment and the greater purpose. Something motivates us all, for some its success, for some its remuneration and for some just getting by is fine. However the key here is not about judging people for their various motivations, its to use them to somehow mutually benefit one another. Any work environment is like a breathing organism and its fuelled by the input we give it. Understand what motivates you but also understand how your motivations affect your immediate environment.

Its this understanding that can build a cohesive team, not everyone in the team will have the same attitude or the same mindset.

Conflicts are common in the workplace, the lines often blur between what one has to do and not do. When In doubt, discuss it, talk about it constantly and raise a flag. Let your team know that there is a genuine conflict that’s bothering you and possibly affecting your performance.

Its difficult to change peoples mindset, because their circumstances make them who they are. What we try to do is ensure that we have tried 100% to correct the situation.

Survival

 

 

 

 

Some of us work to survive, we do it to take care of all our priorities and responsibilities. This is not wrong, why shouldn’t survival be a motivation at work?

But what if we are so humbled and weakened by the need to get by we don’t realize what we are really capable of. Most often than not people are performing at less than true potential.

What does it take to unlock this potential? Here is where the team and mentors come in, recognize and reward this person and give them a reason to believe in themselves. It will take time to see that person reach their optimum level, but the team will one day realize what a powerful being they have in their midst.

　

Productivity and Happiness

 

 

 

 

We take meaning from so many things in our life, what’s wrong in taking meaning from work. If someone told you that by just getting up and getting to work, you could win a lottery, wouldn’t you do it and with renewed vigor?

No, this is not a philosophical treatise or a sermon. Look beyond the obvious to realize the key to being happy and productive. Look at how you get to meet and observe other fantastic people, people from different cultures, different thought processes. You gain confidence and realize that this is a relationship not a bondage. Every relationship deserves to be nurtured and it takes commitment to see the benefits. Look at this way, just by believing in it and watching it grow, it will turn around and be there for you when you feel cornered. Work is not your nemesis, its not something you have to do. Work is not a punishment, it’s a way of being.

　

So take away a message from this article or not, but I hope you did it give it some thought.

Here is a quote from Sam Ewing and I think it’s a nice way to end this article

“Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don’t turn up at all.”